Androgenic Alopecia (AA)

Balding caused by sensitivity to male hormones (androgens). AA is the most common form of balding for both men and women. The specific genetic code causing androgenic alopecia has not been fully sequenced.

We do know that the genes leading to androgenic alopecia are carried on the maternal X chromosome. Consequently, men who possess only a single X chromosome are much more likely to go bald than women who require AA genes on both X chromosomes.

Can You Treat Androgenic Alopecia?

Finasteride and Propecia are effective in treating androgenic alopecia by blocking the function of 5-AR. Many hair loss shampoos will have labels suggesting topical 5-AR blocker activity. The safety and efficacy of topical 5-AR blockers are unknown and not regulated by the FDA.

Minoxidil (Rogaine) is a topical medicine that has been shown to prevent androgenic alopecia although it does not interact with 5-AR activity.

Male Pattern Baldness

This condition is the thinning of hair in men where, typically, the top and front of the head begins to lose hair. Hair follicles possessing specialized receptors for DHT are genetically programmed to regress and die when exposed to this circulating hormone, causing male pattern baldness.

Can You Fix Male Pattern Baldness?

Male pattern baldness is not reversible, but you can fill in areas of hair loss with a hair transplant. Hair transplant surgeons will use grafts from regions of the scalp that are genetically resistant to DHT because these hair follicles do not possess DHT receptors, allowing the grafts to grow hair. The hair grafts that survive the transplant process will continue to grow as hair typically would.